Cover replacing device for can washing machines



July 26, 1932. M MCCLATCHIE 1,868,537

COVER REPLAGING DEVICE FOR CAN WASHING MACHINES July- 26, 1932. J. M. MCCLATCHIE 1,858,537

COVER REPLACING DEVICE FOR CAN WASHING MACHINES Filed Feb. 2o, 195o 4 vsheets-sheet 2 ATTORN EY July 26, 1932. J. M. MccLATcHlE 1,858,537

COVER REPLACING DEVICE FOR CAN WASHING MACHNES Filed Feb. 20, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORN EY July 26, 1932.

J. M. MCCLATCHIE COVER REPLACING DEVICE FOR CAN WASHING MACHINES Filed Feb. 20, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 |N ENT R BWM@ ATTORNEY i I Patented July 26, 1932 'nuire STATES PATENT FFlCE YJOHN' ylllllf. TJICCLATCHIE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE BORDEN COMPANY, 0F

NEW' YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEJ JERSEY COVER REPLACING DEVICE FOR CAN WASHING MACHINES Application filed February 20,1936. Serial No. 429,925.

Vrifhis invention relates more particularly Y toan improvement in cover replacing devices Cia ' scribed and for can washing machines.

It hasbeen proposed heretofore to provide machines used for washing large milk cans with Vdevices for automatically replacing the coversjon the cans upon completion of the washing operations. The object of the present invention is to provide an improved cover replacing device of such construction that thecovers will be properly replaced on the cans ymore efliciently and more accurately than has been possible with the devices heretofore provided for the purpose, and also with less dangerof damage to the covers and the cans. To this end the invention residesin the improved cover replacing device hereinafter departicularly pointed out in the appended claims.

rr1`he preferred form of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a vertical, longitudinal section talren along thefline 1-1 of Fig. 2; Fig. 2 is avertical, transverse section taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 4; Fig. 3 is a vertical, longitudinal section taken along the line 3-'3 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken along the line ll-4 of Fig. 2. Y

The can washing machine with. which the cover replacing device of the present invenion is adapted to be associated may be of any usual or preferred construction and comprises a vframework of which only the discharge end is indicated in the drawings. During the washing operations the cans 10 are advanced intermittently in inverted position along a runway including the parallel guide bars 11 supported in any suitable manner on the frame of the machine, by suitable can adther description.

vancing means including reciprocating bars 12 provided with pivotcd fingers 13 which are effective during movement in the direction to advance' a can but ineffective during their movement in the opposite direction. These parts operate in general in a manner usual inV can washing machines and need no fur- On completion of the can washing operations. each washed can is advanced and eventually the last pair of fingers 13 acts to push the washed can off the rear ends of the Guides or guide bars 11 and into a cradle 15 fixed on a horizontal rock shaft 16 extending transversely of the guide bars 11 just beyond the rear ends thereof.

The frame of the cradle 15 includes a base portion `17 extending along the shaft 16 and provided at its ends with collars 18 surrounding the shaft and secured theretorin any suitable manner; a longitudinal member 19, preferably of T-shaped cross section, secured at its inner end to the base portion 17 and A(when the cradle is in the can receiving position) extending rearwardly to form part of a can support 2O and then in a generally upward directionfor engagement by the body of an inverted can resting on the support, the outer end 21 of the member 19 being bent to extend around the edge of the lower end of an inverted can and assist in retaining the can in position on the support; and a cross-piece 22 curved to conform with the shape of the can body and secured to the member 19 at a suitable point therealong. The cradle also includes a sheet metal portion 23 forming the upper surface of the can support and also extending along the member 19 to the cross piece 22, and a flange 24 projecting upwardly from the upper surface of the portion 23 of the can support and arranged in substantially a semicircle of the proper yradius to receive the top of an inverted can transferred to the cradle. Itwill be seen that the sheet metal is curved downwardly at the forward edge of the support 2O thus facilitating the transfer of a can 10 to the support, and that both ends of the flange 24 ext-end downwardly in conformity with the downward curve of the sheet at the forward edge of the support 20.

After an inverted can 10 has been deposited in the cradle 15, the cradle is swung downwardly to deposit the can in upright position on a platform 26 supported on two horizontal members 27 connecting the uprights or posts 28 at the sides of the frame. The shaft 16 is journalled in brackets 29 at opposite sides of the frame and connected at their forward ends with the corresponding uprights 28 and at their rear ends with secondary uprights 29a extending upwardly from the .20 "I to actuate lother parts Vof the apparatuses will be brought out hereinafter.

' platform 26; and is rocked in the desired manner by means including a sprocket wheel 30 fixed on the shaft, a second sprocket 3l at ythe front of sprocket 30,'sproclret chain V32 connectingthe sprocket with the sprocket 30, a gear 88 connected with the sprocket 31 torotate therewith, a gear 34 mounted onv a transverse. shaft 85 and meshing with gear 33, a pinion 36 on said shaft 85 meshing with a rack 87 and held in engagement therewith Y Vby a swinging yoke v38 pivoted on said shaft 35, a pivot or pin 39 journalled in an extension of said rack and eccentrically mounted on a rotating member 40 `fixed on a transverse shaft 41 extending across the top of the frame, awo'rm gear 42 fixed on said .Y shaft 41 and meshing withl a worm 43V ona `:shaft 44, and a pulleyv 45 driven from any suitable source of power by means of a belt 46. The transverse shaft 41 is also jutilized -As .each can is swung downwardly'in .the lcradle l5 for deposit in upright position Von the platform 26, its locationonthe "platform is controlled to soineaextent by two horizon- .tal ba-rs 47 located :at .the left ofthe pathof the cans (looking in the direction in which thecans .are fed-to :thecrad'le)l and fat dierent heights vabove the platform but Aineach case less-than the height -of a ycan body Aabove the platform 26'. rThese bars are lpositioned inwardly from the adjacent side vof theframe but are supported therefrom by extensions of these bars turned outwardly land'agttaohed to said frame. .At the Vinner sides -ef these. bars is a guide 48 in the form of a sheet of suituprights `or posts 28 rof the main frame.

v In its downward swing `the outer or free vend 21 of the central member .ofthe cradle 15 passes ldownwardly-.and forwardly through a slot .,570 in the platform 26 and beyond the ifor-` wardedge oftheplatform. The can placed onthe platform at this time is, however, prei vented from following the cradle too far in this direction by fingers 51--projecting from the ybars 47 almost to the path of .the cradle and bars`52 substantially in alignment with theiingers 5l' but positioned on the other side of said path of thecradle. Y

Before the cradle 1.5 swingsupwardly to receive another inverted can, the can which has just been placed in upright positionk on the platform 26 iswmoved transversely of the Ymachine'to a position `to receive arcan cover 53 .(having acylindrical portion 53a adapted to -iitinto the neck part of the can substantially parallel to the runway along Y which the cans are advanced and-including parallel guide bars 54 along which the covers are advanced by any suitable means, for example, means including a reciprocating bar 55 provided with pivoted fingers 56 which are effective during movement in the direction to advance a coverV but ineffective during movement in the opposite direction. Such transverse movement of a` can maybe ei'ected by means of a iinger 57 projecting from a link of a chain 58 mounted on sprocket wheels 59 on shafts 60 j ournalled in brackets 61 projecting downwardly from the lower side of the platform 26. The sprocket wheels 59 are so'positioned thatthe upper stretch of the chain will travel along a slot 62 in the platform a-nd extending transversely of the machine;` and,fat regular intervals, the finger. 57 will rise above the upper surface yof the platform, move along the slot until it reaches the other end of the upperreachV and then sinkbelow the table to-return tothe otherend of itseffective path. As indicated in dotted linesV on Fig. 4, the bracketsV 6l at the point at which the chain 58 rises to travel along the slot A62-are connected with a plate 62 provided kwith slots 62 to receive the shanks of screws 62", thus permitting the corresponding shaft to be adjusted to tighten or loosen the chain 58 and to be secured inposition to retainsuch adjustment.

If a .can is in position von the platform 26 as the finger 57 rises above the platform, the finger will engage the can and move it transversely of the machine to a position to receive a cover from the rear ends of the guide bars 54, .suoli receiving vposition being very accurately determined by the bars 52 which extend along ,one side of the path of movement of the can and bars 63 extending acrossV the path of the can and supported from the main Yframe at the corresponding side of the inay chine. As here shown, each of the bars 52 is connected at one end with one of the bars .63 and at itssother end with an upright 64 which may be formed integral with the bars 52. In this connection .it should be notedY (Fig. 8) that the nger 57 ordinarily strikes the periphery of the can somewhat to therear of the axis and tends to impart to the can motionA transverse to the machine and also motion in a direction to cause it to come into engagei. `ment with the bars 52.

While a can is in the coverl receiving position, a cover is applied thereto and the can is then removed from this position by means of a finger 65 projecting from a link on a: chain 66 extendingV around sprocket wheels 67 and 68, of which the lower 67 is positioned just below the platform'26 so that, as the nger 65 moves upwardly around said lower spreek# et wheel and upwardly through a suitable y wheel 68 opening in the floor, said finger will engage from the inside the downwardly extending flange 69 by which the bottom 69a of the can is held above a floor or other support and thereby protected from injury, and will move the can along a runway including parallel guide bars 7 0 properly positioned with reference to the upper reach of the chain 66. Due to the engagement of the flange 69 at its inside by the linger 65, the can is pulled rather than pushed by the finger and can not readily be passed along to another conveying device. To obviate this difhculty, there has been provided another finger 71 projecting from a link spaced sufficiently from the link carrying the finger 65 that the finger 71 will follow the can advanced by the finger 65, and, when the finger 65 passes around they .sprocket and is withdrawn from engage` ment with the flange 69, the finger 71 will by engagement with the can from the rear advance it farther and as here disclosed deliver it upon a series of rolls 72 which may be actuated in any suitable manner.

The sprocket chains 58 and 66 are actuated froin the shaft 11, by connections which include a gear 78 fixed on shaft l1 at the other side of the machine from the member l0 through which the cradle is actuated, a gear 74 meshing with the gear 7 3, and mounted on a shaft 75 parallel'to the shaft 41, a sprocket wheel 76 mounted on the shaft 75 and connected with the gear 74 to turn therewith, a sprocket chain 60a driven by a sprocket wheel 76, a sprocket wheel 77 driven by sprocket chain 76a and mounted on the shaft 78 carrying the lower sprocket 67 for the chain 66 by which the cans are removed after the covers have been applied thereto, and intermeshing bevel gears 79 for transmitting motion to the nearest shaft 60 by which the chain 58 is actuated. rlhe upper sprocket wheel 68 for the chain 66 is also driven independently of this chain v by means of a sprocket chain 80 connecting a sprocket wheel 81 on the shaft 78 and a sprocket wheel 82 on a shaft 83 on which the upper sprocket 58 for the chain 66 is fixed. lt should be understood that the relation between the part-s is such that for each cycle Vof operation of the finger 57 on the chain 58 there is a cycle of operation for the finger 65 on the chain 66.

fhle each can is in the cover replacing posit-ion indicated by the dot-anddash line 84 in Fig. e, a cover 53 is carried off thel end of the cover runway, the projecting lower part of such cover enters the flared upper er d of the can and the cover is then forced down into the can by means which will now be de scribed. Above the center of the cover replacing position is a vertical member or rod 85 slidabiy mounted in upper and lower branches of a bracket 86 secured to the main frame', and at the lower end of this rod is a member or plunger in the form of a disk 87 of suiiicient weight to drive home a cover properly placed on the top of the can. Above the upper branch of the bracket 86 is a collar 88 slidably mounted on the rod 85 and held against movement off the upper end thereof by suitable means as a washer 89 placed over a reduced portion at the upper end of the rod and held against the annular shoulder,

thus formed, by a nut 90 screwed on such movable stop to engage the other from below 3 so as to be effective for positively lifting the plunger but ineffective for positive depression thereof. At opposite sides thereof the collar 88 is provided with aligned pivots 91 connected with the lower ends of links 92 'PS5 which at their upper ends are pivoted to the outer end of an arm 98 of a bell crank 94 sup ported by a pivot 95 carried by a bracket 96 mounted on the main frame. The other arm 97 of the bell crank is provided at its outer end with a follower 98 projecting into a cani path 99 in one side or face of a member 100 fixed on shaft lll, said cam path being of suitable shape to raise the cover driving niember 87 or permit it to move downwardly in proper timing with the action of the rest of the machine.

Assuming that at starting the machine, no cans have as yet been discharged from the can washing machine proper, that the cradle 15 is in its raised, can receiving position, and that the cover driving member or disk 87 is in raised position; the full and continued operation is as follows :--As the can which has just passedthrough the washing zone in inverted position reaches the rear ends of the guide bars 11 of the can runway it is shoved therefrom by a pair of fingers 13 and deposited in the cradle 15 with the open end of the inverted can resting on the support 20 in the space bounded by the flange 24, the body of the can embraced by the curved cross piece 22, and the bottom of the cam engaged by the offset end 2l of the longitudinal member of the cradle. The cradle then swings downwardly to the dotted line position of Fig. 1 depositing the can on the platform 26 and then continuing its swinging movement sufficiently to free the can. At this time the cover driving member 87 is permitted to take a cover driving movement butJ there may be no can in position to receive a cover and no cover in position for insertion into a can.

The can on the platform 26 will then be en gaged by the finger 57 on the chain 58 and shoved to the left (Fig. 2) to the cover inserting position. During this movement the cradle 15 will be returned to its upright can receiving position and a second can deposited therein and the cover driving member 87 will be raised, av cover 53 being placed in the top of the first can as soon as it reaches the cover Vapplying' position. 5 Substantially at the time the cradle 15 is it from the cover just driven. Before the' cradle has returned far enough to interfere with the canon the platform 26, the can will be moved out of the path of the cradle by the finger57 on the chainV 58 and substantially at the same time the first can, now in the cover receiving position, will be engaged, by the finger 65 and moved up the guide bars 7 O thus leaving the cover inserting position vacant to receive theV neXt can. Obviously this operation can be repeated indenitely.

Although the raising and lowering of the cover'driving member 87 is controlled by the cam path 99 in thel member 100, the sliding or lost motion connection between the rod 85 and the collar 88 is such `that the member -87 is not forced down rigidly against the coversbut its action is depend-ent upon the v weight of the member 87 and the rod 85 and the velocity of their movement at the time `the member 87 strikes a cover. By this arrangement the danger of damage to the covers during the driving operation is very much reduced.` Y Y What VI claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:- f

l. In a can washing machine in which the can is discharged from the washing Zone in inverted position, can inverting means rev ceiving the can from the washing zone, a support, cantransferring means for receiving the can from the can inverting means and depositing it at a cover replacing position on said support with its `open end uppermost,

means for depositing a cover on the can in cover replacing position', a vertically movable plunger for forcing the cover into the can, and plunger controlling means for raising the plunger and controlling the downward movement thereof under the action of gravity until theplunger strikes the cover.

2.. In a can washing machine in which a can is discharged fromthe washing Zone in inverted position, can inverting means receiving the can from the washing zone, a`

support on which the can inverting means deposits the can with its open end uppermost, means forV positively shifting said can to a cover replacing position thereby avoiding interference with the can inverting means in connection with the inversion of'another can, means for depositing a cover on the can in the cover placing position, and means for forcing the cover into the open end of the Can. l

3. In a can washing'machine in which a can is discharged from the washing zone in inverted position,vcan inverting means receiving the can from the washing Zone and positioning it with its open end uppermost, a support at a cover replacing position, means for receiving the can from the can inverting means and positively placing it at the cover replacing position thereby clearing the can inverting means for action on another can, means for vdepositing a cover in the open mouth of the can including a runway from which the .cover drops into the open mouth of the can, and a vertically movable plunger located over the can in the cover replacing position and arranged to operate by gravity to force the cover into the can.

4. In a can washing machine in which a can is discharged from a washing zone infinverted position, a pivotally mounted cradle having an upper position to receive the canin inverted position upon discharge from the washing Zone, a platform at a lower level having a slot through which the cradle moves,

means for actuating the cradle to deposit the can at a receiving position on the platform with its open end uppermost and return to upper or can receiving position, means associated with the cradle operating means-to remove the can from such receiving position'thereby enabling the return movement of the cradle and to place the can in a cover replacing position, means for placing a cover on said can, a plunger arranged to fall by gravity and force the cover into the can, and plunger controlling means effective to lift the plunger and to control the downward movement thereof until it strikes the cover.

5. In a can washing machine of the character described, a platform, means for receiving a can discharged from the washing Zone and placing it in upright position on the platform with its open end uppermost, means for positively shifting said can to acover replacing position thereby clearing the can inverting means for action on another can, means for depositing a cover on the can including a runway from which the cover passes kdirectly ontothe can, a plunger arranged to fall by gravity onto the cover, and plunger controlling meansincluding a cam shaped te effect lifting of the plunger and to control the downward movement thereof until it engages the cover. Y Y

6. In a can washing mach-ine of the character described, a platform, means for receiving a can discharged from the washing zone'and placing it in upright position on the platform with its open. end uppermost, means for shiftingl said can to a cover revet placing position, means for depositing a cover on the can including a runway from which the cover passes directly onto the can, a plunger arranged to fall by gravity onto the cover to force it into the can, and plunger controlling means including a vertically movable stop connected with said plunger to move upwardly and downwardly therewith, a second vertically movable stop to engage the other stop from below so as to be effective for positively lifting the plunger but ineffective for positive depression thereof, and actuating means for the second stop including a cam having la dwell to effect holding of the second stop in lowered position, a lifting portion, a dwell to effect holding of the second stop in raised position to sustain the plunger, and a lowering portion to permit the plunger to act on the cover.

7. In a can washing machine in which cans are discharged one by one from the washing zone in inverted position, a can runway along which the inverted cans are fed intermittently to the discharge end, a cradle pivoted to receive a can from said can runway while in upright position and to swing downwardly to reverse the can into upright position with its open end uppermost, a platform to receive the can when so reversed and having a slot to permit passage of the cradle to free the same from the can, means for operating the cradle, means associated with the cradle operating means for shifting each can so delivered to the platform transversely of said slot to clear the same before the cradle reaches the slot in its return movement and for delivering such can to a cover replacing zone, means for driving a cover into said can while the latter is in said cover replacing zone, and means for operating said cradle and the cover driving means so that a cover inserting operation is effected at each downward swing of the cradle.

8. In a machine of the character described, means for supporting a can in upright position, means for supplying cans to the supporting means7 means for placing a cover on the can, and means for forcing the cover into the can including a reciprocating plunger and plunger o-perating means including a lost motion connection whereby in the downward movement the plunger will be under direct control until it engages the cover whereupon the momentum of the plunger will act alone to insert the cover.

JOHN M. MGCLATCHIE. 

